Joint Appeal by Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan; Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan; Lassina Zerbo, CTBTO Executive Secretary

FUMIO KISHIDA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan,
KAIRAT ABDRAKHMANOV, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan
and
LASSINA ZERBO, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO PrepCom 2 May 2017, at the occasion of the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting, Vienna

As Co-Coordinators of the Article XIV process and as the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO PrepCom, we appeal for a renewed and revitalized effort towards entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

The vast majority of the international community has recognized that the entry into force of the Treaty is a practical and pragmatic way to advance nuclear disarmament as envisaged in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). However, it remains “unfinished business”.

Drawing on the experiences of Japan and Kazakhstan in suffering the disastrous consequences of nuclear weapons, we seek the following effort and commitment to the CTBT in pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons:

NUCLEAR TESTING BY NORTH KOREA
We strongly deplore the nuclear tests by North Korea, the only country in the 21st century to have flouted the norm against nuclear testing. We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from conducting any further nuclear tests and emphasize that the CTBT plays a critical role in responding to the challenge posed by North Korea by reinforcing the no-test norm.

We acknowledge that the CTBT verification regime is functioning as designed by the Treaty, as clearly shown in the detection of nuclear testing by North Korea.

EARLY ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE CTBT
We call for the eight remaining Annex 2 States to ratify the CTBT without further delay and without waiting for other countries to ratify the Treaty.

We welcome UN Security Council Resolution 2310 (2016), which stresses the vital importance and urgency of achieving the early entry into force of the CTBT.

We emphasize the importance of continued political commitments and efforts of all countries concerned to facilitate ratification by the remaining Annex 2 States.

We encourage non-signatory Annex 2 States to sign the CTBT, and as a first step toward signature, engage with the CTBTO PrepCom by participating as observers.

We welcome positive undertakings by the remaining Annex 2 States in recent years, such as domestic educational activities and the certification of International Monitoring System (IMS) stations. We further encourage their enhanced efforts, including the further build-up of IMS stations within their territories and the transmission of data to the International Data Centre (IDC).

We stress the importance of joint efforts to address issues that present obstacles to the ratification by the remaining Annex 2 States and stress the potential benefits of making efforts at a regional level, where applicable, to create an environment conducive to their ratification.

UNIVERSALIZING THE TREATY
We welcome the recent ratification of the Treaty by the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Kingdom of Swaziland.

We welcome all initiatives, including convening regional conferences and workshops, aimed at raising awareness of the CTBT, including the initiative of Japan to convene a Regional Conference for States in the South East Asia, the Pacific and the Far East Region (SEAPFE) in Tokyo in July 2017 and International Conference “Monitoring of nuclear tests and their consequences” convened by Kazakhstan on a biennial basis.

We commit ourselves to expand youth networks, including seeking synergies with the activities of both Japan’s “Youth Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons” and the CTBTO Youth Group.

We recognize the significance of the ATOM (“Abolish Testing. Our Mission”) campaign initiated in Kazakhstan and aimed at a complete nuclear tests ban in support of the CTBT.

ENHANCING THE VERIFICATION REGIME FOR DETECTING NUCLEAR TESTING
We confirm our commitment and cooperation to facilitate the early completion of the IMS and the further strengthening of its functions and recall the voluntary contributions provided to the CTBTO PrepCom by all States, and in particular by Japan.

We call for those countries that have not yet done so to host monitoring stations as designed by the Treaty in order to fully establish the IMS.

We commit ourselves to further cooperate in capacity building for national data centres, particularly in developing countries.      

LINK TO STATEMENT (PDF) 

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